Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, boosted by gains in shares of energy and financial companies.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index vaulted 108.41 points to greet noon at 16,424.94
The Canadian dollar settled 0.09 cents to 75.18 cents U.S.
Top boosts to the energy sector were Suncor Energy, up 67 cents, or 1.3%, to $53.16, and TransCanada Corp, gaining 87 cents, or 1.5%, to $57.49.
Financials were lifted by Toronto-Dominion Bank, shares of which were up 79 cents, or 1%, to $76.76, and Brookfield Asset Management, up 65 cents, or 1.2% to $54.99.
The biggest percentage gainers on the TSX were cannabis firms, rallying on the legalization of recreational marijuana. Shares of Aurora Cannabis jumped 26 cents, or 2.7%, to $9.80, and Canopy Growth rose 64 cents, or 1.4% to $43.14.
The Senate legalized recreational marijuana on Tuesday, setting the stage for the country to become the first among G7 nations to legalize cannabis.
Shares of Lundin Mining slid nine cents, or 1.1%, to $7.84, and New Gold dropped two cents to $2.74, as copper and gold prices dipped.
The federal government believes a deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement is still possible despite a U.S. move to impose tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 0.7 points to 751.99
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, as information technology spiked 1.4%, while consumer staples and health-care each gained 1.2%.
Only materials missed the party, losing 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped on Wednesday, adding to steep losses seen in the previous session, putting the index on track to extend its longest losing streak since March 2017.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 48.2 points to 24,652.01, after rallying more than 100 points at the open, with DowDuPont and General Electric both falling more than 1%. The Dow was also on track to post a seven-day losing streak.
The S&P 500 gained 6.85 points to 2,769.44, with technology stocks outperforming.
The NASDAQ grew 59.31 points to 7,785.37, as Facebook and Netflix both hit record highs. Both the S&P and NASDAQ were boosted by dealmaking activity and potentially improving trade relations between the U.S. and the European Union.
Disney raised its bid for Twenty-First Century Fox assets to $38 per share, or $71.3 billion, surpassing an offer made by rival and Comcast. Last week, Comcast bid $65 billion in cash for Fox assets which include FX, Star TV and stakes in Sky.
The bid sent Fox up 7.1%, and Disney shares higher 0.7%.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance rose more than 4.2% after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced it would replace General Electric on the blue-chips index. General Electric, meanwhile, traded lower.
Trade tensions among the largest economies in the world have increased recently as the Trump administration aims at obtaining more favorable trade deals and conditions for the U.S.
But investors got a reprieve Wednesday from the negative news on trade. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. ambassador to Germany had met with the leaders of German car makers BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler, where they pitched the idea of ending car tariffs between the U.S. and the EU.
During these talks, the executives said they would be in favour of scrapping these levies as part of a broader deal encompassing industrial goods, the Journal said.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 2.91% from Tuesday’s 2.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained a dollar to $65.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faltered $2.20 at $1,276.40 U.S. an ounce.
